WABI covers Fresh Check Day
WABI (Channel 5) covered Fresh Check Day at the University of Maine, an expo-style event on Feb. 26 aiming to “check in” on the mental health of students and raise awareness about mental health issues and suicide prevention. “We want to make sure that our students know that we are here, that we have someone they can talk to even if it’s not someone they are working with or seeing every day, and we want to eliminate the stigma of mental health. I think that’s a big challenge that we face on this campus,” said Benjamin Evans, Campus Activities and Student Engagement programmer. “It’s a community-based suicide prevention program, and we want to really bring our community together. We have a booth called ‘It Takes a Village.’ It really does take a village to reach those people, to raise awareness,” said Amy Moran, a psychologist with the UMaine Counseling Center. “We really want people to know who are struggling out there and having thoughts of suicide that we care about them.” In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Week, event organizers reminded people to maintain the conversation about suicide prevention throughout the year, WABI reported. The Counseling Center is open weekdays from 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.